


the sea and sky; these lonely islands

by precognition



Category: One Piece
Genre: Cuddling & Snuggling, Established Relationship, Falling In Love, Introspection, Kissing, M/M, haha yay kissing yayyy, it's got both!, uh, wahoo. have fun!
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-27
Updated: 2020-12-27
Packaged: 2021-03-11 02:15:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 871
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28357614
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/precognition/pseuds/precognition
Summary: title from breathing rapture by le loupzoro and usopp - falling in love, and after. a study in contrasts.
Relationships: Roronoa Zoro/Usopp
Comments: 12
Kudos: 45





	the sea and sky; these lonely islands

**Author's Note:**

> this is mostly introspection and character analysis but it does have a distinctly romantic bent so [feeds the zosopp shippers]

When Usopp first meets Zoro, he is terrified. He knows of “Pirate Hunter” Zoro, the Demon of the East Blue. He’s seen the bounty posters, tacked them on his wall, prayed his father hasn’t fallen to those skilled hands. And now that paper-crinkled face is standing in front of him, grinning like the devil. There are no creases in his brown skin other than laugh lines, but something in Usopp aches to smooth them out anyway. 

He learns, at this first meeting, that Zoro is not a soft man. He expected nothing less, of course, but that doesn’t mean his heart doesn’t tremble when Zoro fixes that icy stare on him and asks him whether he is prepared to take a life, now that he’s drawn his gun. Usopp has always been the soft cotton of linen on a clothesline, blowing in the wind. Zoro feels like the snap of a canvas sail. With a certainty he has never felt before, Usopp knows he is staring down a real pirate. He puts his slingshot away.

When all is said and done, and Zoro has finished washing the blood from his blades, Luffy informs Usopp that he’s joining them. Usopp doesn’t protest. He touches the rear sail of the Going Merry, and notes that it’s made of a soft, vanilla-scented linen.

* * *

Now, Usopp runs his hands over the planes of Zoro’s stomach in the bed they share. The flesh there yields under his touch. He presses a kiss to the curve of his partner’s jawline, letting himself sink into the swordsman’s soft skin.

* * *

When they’re handcuffed together, Zoro offers to cut off his arm. When Usopp looks him in the eyes, and realizes he’s serious. He doesn’t end up cutting off either of their arms. Instead, He uses Usopp as a sword, one of his weapons. Usopp feels the gentleness in his touch, and wishes he could sharpen himself like a blade, so he could feel that again. Nami arrives and frees them, and the moment is over.

When Zoro’s fight with Kaku is over, he emerges bloodied from the remains of the tower. Usopp, too, left the tower bloodied - but the blood on him was his own. Usopp’s hands feel cold. Zoro hands him the key to Robin’s handcuffs, and the blood on their hands mingles. The warmth of Zoro’s palms helps calm Usopp’s shaking, and his hands still burn as he shoots a missile at Spandam’s head.

Zoro ties a bandanna around his head and becomes a demon. Usopp puts on a golden mask, and emerges a hero. Sometimes, though, he wishes he could give that up, and return to being a weapon, honed to perfection in those calloused palms.

* * *

Now, Usopp sits with Zoro as he polishes his blades. He chatters about his latest inventions, or restrings his slingshot, but his eyes always catch on the glint of steel against dark skin. He carries the moniker of “God”, now, but his heart will always belong to the East Blue’s Demon.

* * *

Usopp spends his life running. He knows he’s a coward, is under no illusions about his mettle. When confronted, though, he prefers to call it a “healthy sense of self-preservation”. In all fairness, it’s saved his life more than once. He’s no monster, he can’t take a hundred hits and keep running, not like his captain, like the cook, like Zoro. He’s just a man, and he knows that.

Zoro doesn’t seem to. Zoro gets slashed across the chest a few days after they first meet, and still fights Arlong’s men right after. Zoro takes hit after hit and keeps moving no matter what. Zoro can cut steel and iron with his blades, can grow arms and heads to keep up with his opponent. Zoro never backs down from a battle, and sometimes Usopp wonders if he’s even human at all.

Here, on Thriller Bark, Usopp doesn’t have to wonder. He watches as Zoro bleeds out from a thousand cuts all over his body. He sees his legs tremble and give way beneath him, and he wants to reach out and catch him. He wants to shake him by the shoulders and tell him that for all his prowess, for all his monstrous strength, he is still  _ human _ . He can still die, and the crew - and Usopp - will not be able to move on if that happens. Sometimes, Usopp wishes Zoro were just a little more of a coward.

* * *

Now, Usopp feels safe in the comfort of their bed. One of Zoro’s arms is wrapped around his shoulders, and he feels its weight like a suit of armor. He tucks his head into Zoro’s shoulder to hide his smile, and the press of lips to his hair in response soothes his coward’s heart more than any fortress. Some things, he thinks, are worth putting yourself in danger for.

* * *

Two years pass. Usopp returns with new ammunition. Zoro returns missing an eye. Usopp watches the way he adjusts to the lack of depth perception, to the blind spot on one side. His swordsmanship is still better than ever. It’s a balancing act, Usopp thinks, and he resolves to hone his sight twice as well to make up for Zoro’s loss.

**Author's Note:**

> leave a comment if you liked or if you didn't maybe we can kiss


End file.
